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So often the golfer who struggles with slicing the golf ball comes in with a poor face to path relationship. A large item to consider when fixing a slice is how the golfer initially arranges or “prepares” the club face.

Often in discussions about game improvement the time that we spend before the golf shot is overlooked. However, this area is incredibly important and can greatly affect the overall outcome of our respective golf shot. A few select items are highlighted below:

- Examine the Lie Whatever situation the ball is in should ultimately determine the golf shot. If it is three inches down in Bermuda rough, a different shot should be played than if it was a perfect lie in the fairway. Pre-shot preparation should change accordingly.

- Selecting type of shot This sets up the next step and should be influenced by the information making what was gleaned from examining the lie. Is this a full shot, partial swing, low trajectory etc.?

- Practice Swings Practice swings should be conscious and specific to the situation. They should not be made just for the sole purpose of making practice swings. They can involve preparation for a difficult situation or involve mechanical thoughts and feels from practice.

- Control Breathing This time is invaluable to being able to control body processes such as breathing. It can be used to slow yourself down and return to a comfortable performing state.

- Pre- Swing Motion The brief time right before the start of the golf swing. The last seconds should be spent softening the forearms (think waggle) and finding appropriate pressures in your feet. It is very difficult to start an athletic motion such a s golf swing from a static position.

Always important to remember is that the pre-shot routine is living and breathing, it changes over time to accommodate different elements. Below is a Pre- Shot chart that we made up for one of my competitive students. I encourage you to make a similar chart as it helps bring to light what elements exist/ don’t exist, and what can be improved upon.

There are certain patterns that follow golfers through every short game effort. The flip (below pictures) is very common. This can really be characterized as a premature deceleration of the lead arm and the chest, with the trail arm still releasing. In effect it is a sequence problem. In plain English when a golfer “flips it” the body stops turning, and the trail arm continues to move even through the lead arm is stalled.
Through this process the low point is altered . This then allows the clubhead to decelerate into the impact area as well as premature rise of the leading edge and potential face closure. Pointing to bladed golf shots, and fat golf shots due to lack of bounce activation, poor distance control etc.

Solution

Keep a few key items in mind:
1. Energy should always flow toward the target. The body is continuously moving, finish with the chest facing the target area. (see below leftt)
2. Maximum acceleration occurs on the target side of the ball. Practice this by making small accelerating motions bushing the grass on the target side of the ball.
3. Finish with the hands, shaft and club head in front of where a belt buckle would be. ( see below right) Allow-ing for proper management of bounce, loft and face angle

Understanding Bounce

By Matt Henderson, PGA

Bounce and wedge fitting in general are overlooked. It is very common for wedges to be a second thought after a player has gone through a complete fitting. It is also very common to just go completely off turf conditions, i.e. low bounce for firm turf higher bounce for softer. Bounce goes way beyond just turf condition as it can have an influence on a player’s ability to hit certain shots or even progress mechanically over time.

Definition

To cite a golf dictionary for the definition of bounce it would go something like this:

Golf club bounce is the angle between the ground and the sole of the club when the shaft is held perpendicular to the horizon.

If that is as clear as mud, then look at the picture above. The club pictured has a stated bounce angle of ten degrees, so in this case there will be a ten-degree angle between the sole and the ground. Notice how the leading edge is slightly raised to the trail edge of the sole.

Playing off the above image we can start to think about impact conditions. As the shaft becomes more vertical or back leaning through the impact area, the higher the leading edge will be from the turf at impact. Imagine adding a greater bounce angle then ten degrees and now with the shaft at vertical the leading edge will be even further off the ground. Armed with that thought: Impact conditions, turf conditions and how much effective loft we want to deliver to ball in a set amount of circumstances all lead into finding an ideal bounce.

Why it Matters

The leading-edge digs and the bounce glides. This is very important to understand for purposes of wedge fitting and managing overall mechanics over time. Example: A player has that same 10° bounce wedge from above, yet they have ten degrees of forward shaft lean at impact. This player now has zero effective bounce. Meaning that the leading edge is now completely exposed to the turf.

When this situation occurs, it is still possible to hit quality wedge shots. However, there is exacting precision required. If that leading edge enters the ground even slightly before it was anticipated to, then it will do exactly what it is supposed to…dig. Bounce is engineered into the wedge to help you the golfer hit better shots over time, giving us some room for error.

Which Bounce Do I Need?

A great example would be to think of a spoon and a fork. Understanding a few items moving into this example:

1. There is an ideal amount of bounce that we would like to expose to the impact area. Too little bounce will give us lead edge exposure, which can result in the need to be very precise. Precision to this degree simply doesn’t happen and then the player perceives themselves as “inconsistent.” Too much bounce and there could be too much deflection through the impact area. Stating that in another way the leading edge could be too high off the ground and be presented to the ball.

2. The spoon would represent a high bounce wedge and the fork would represent a low bounce wedge in the below scenarios.

3. The handle on the spoon and fork would respectively represent the angle of attack of the clubhead i.e. how steep or shallow the clubhead is moving toward the low point. The steeper the AOA is the more bounce we will need on the wedge; shallower AOA requires less bounce. In the pictures below, our high bounce spoon must have the handle tilted more upright to get the leading edge of the spoon closer to the table. While the forks handle is much closer (shallower) to the table to get the leading closer.

In each scenario there could be offsetting differences. If we take the spoon and lower the handle (shallow AOA) then the leading edge of the spoon raises off the ground due to the roundness (bounce) of the bottom of the spoon. In the picture below the leading edge would contact the hypothetical ball more toward the equator. With the fork, tipping the handle up (AOA Steepening) will present the leading edge of the fork very much into the ground. If it had any momentum at that angle it would gouge into the ground.

The benefit of having the proper bounce would be to take whatever you are doing mechanically and complement the action. If a player’s steepness through the impact area is our only concern, then the player who attacks the ground steeply would find it advantageous to error toward higher bounce wedges. If turf conditions are the only concern then, low bounce for firm. Then there is the concern to what type of shots I will be playing, open faced shots, square faced shots etc. These are all factors that go into the process and should all be considered. Taking only one of the above into consideration could result improper wedges, potentially hindering a player’s development and/or ability.

Make sure and stop by TPC Las Vegas and I can easily test your wedges to see if you’re in the right bounce configurations. If you happen to be in the market for new wedges all together, then stop by and we will go through the wedge fitting process.

Out of sheer curiosity and opportunity I headed down to the practice tee at TPC Las Vegas with my Callaway GBB EPIC driver, but I also had the Original Great Big Berta with me. When I say original I mean the one from 1995. I grew up playing clubs just like this one, so what an opportunity to put it up against the latest and greatest offering from Callaway Golf.

The Drivers

Club

Year Manufactured

Length

Loft

Head Size

Shaft Flex

Callaway Great Big Bertha EPIC

2017

45"

10°

460 CC

Stiff

Callaway Great Big Bertha EPIC

2017

43.5"

10°

460 CC

Stiff

Callaway Great Big Bertha Warbird

1995

43.5"

10°

265 CC

Stiff

The biggest difference between the drivers is obviously the head size, with the EPIC maxing out he USGA allowable head size of 460 cubic centimeters. The original GBB comes in at an measly 265 cc’s, which makes it hard to believe that I remember people making remarks about it how big it was.

The shaft length of the drivers was also much different, with the modern driver coming in at 45” of length. To add an interesting element and to level the playing field in one respect I added an EPIC with a 43.5” just like its older model.

Testing

· All numbers were achieved using the FlightScope X3

· Golf Balls used were Titleist PRO V1X (sorry no Chrome Soft were available, it is a great ball however)

· All Drivers used had or were set to 10 degrees of loft

· All shafts used were stock offerings. (PX Hzrdus in 45” and 43.5” EPIC)

· 10 Golf Balls hit with each Club

Performance

Looking at the info above the first thing that pops up is that I gained 25 yards of total distance between the EPIC 45 and Original GBB (OGBB). I averaged 19 more yards of carry. The OGBB produced the highest golf ball in terms of actual apex, but to do so it launched higher and spun more than the EPIC. The really large difference between the two came with ball speed, the EPIC45 helping to add 9 MPH of ball speed on average. For those counting for every MPH of ball speed we can hit it 2-4 yards farter depending on efficiency of strike. In this instance I added just over two yards per MPH of ball speed.

Things really got interesting when I used the EPIC with the 43.5” (EPIC43.5) shaft. As can be expected it produced the smallest miss pattern/ area. But the number between the OGBB and the EPIC 43.5 are much more pedestrian with ball speed, carry and total distances only slightly different. The EPIC43.5 barely beat its 1995 counterpart.

Verdict

Technology helps…25 yards is nothing to scoff at. The modern drivers are bigger, longer and lighter which transfers into more forgiving mishits and faster speeds. Just in this small sample pattern there was an immediate gain in clubhead and ball speed. The OGBB was heavy and the shaft was questionably unstable. This test proved a few things to me, one of those items is that shaft technology is lightyears ahead of where it was in the mid 90’s. The shafts of today, even stock offerings are light and way more stable feeling than shafts of years prior.

My dispersion pattern did improve with the OGBB and the EPIC43.5 vs. the EPIC45. (see data above) This is no mystery as the shafts are shorter, but in my opinion the improvement in dispersion pattern in this case is not worth the loss of distance…Again 25 yards is 25 yards. Now, this might not always be the case and that why club fitting is so important. If you are planning on buying a new driver make sure and get fit. It makes a tremendous difference and is easy to do right here at TPC Las Vegas.

Additional Thoughts

The weighting of the clubs was significantly different. Technology has come a long way in this respect. A very important thing to remember when looking at the data above is that there is one large error in the data collection, and that is my golf swing was the only one used. Different player of different skill, ability and physical makeup would have had different results. The dispersion results are perfect example, during the study I managed to average above 1.46 smash factor and above a 1.49 with EPIC45. That translates roughly into me being able to hit the middle of the clubface most of the time. If we tested a player that had a lot of point of contact mishits, the modern driver would almost certainly produce a better dispersion pattern.

Matt Henderson is the Director of Instruction on-site at TPC Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada and brings over 14 years of experience as a golf instructor and coach. Ranked by Golf Digest as one of the best instructors in Nevada, (2013-2018) Matt was also the recipient of the Southern Nevada PGAs Teacher of the Year Award. (2013)

As a PGA Class A professional Matt has worked and studied under some of the games best known instructors. In addition, Matt also has extensive experience in the field of fitness and junior development and is certified by the Titleist Performance Institute in both areas. Currently his students include the2016 SNGA Senior-Player of the Year,multiple collegiate players, and both Web.com Tour and Mackenzie TOUR (Canadian) Members.

Matt specializes in short game instruction and competitive player development. He enjoys coaching players of all skill levels, from beginner to the TOUR.

In any short game situation, the most important factor is contact. Quality contact creates friction, friction creates spin, and spin creates relative control. In a deep rough or poor lie scenario, you must be able to assess and figure out how the club is going to be able to interact with the turf. Just like anything else reading lies is a major skill, but the nice thing about a skill is we can always improve

The most important factor is always club to ball contact and finding what is ideal to produce optimal contact. Too many times golfers tend to look at situation and select a shot dependent on the sole variable of how much green there is to work with, and not the situation that their ball is in. Always assess the lie first, then pick landing and resting areas based upon that lie.

Situation: Deep Rough/ Greenside

To illustrate the above point, I will use the situation where the ball has a lot of long and/or thick grass behind it. To control contact in this lie we need to create a steeper angle of attack, essentially meaning we need to do something different than the neutral setup/short game motion. To a lot of amateurs this means adjust something dynamically in the swing, this can be confusing and disrupt sequence. The solution for consistency is to alter the body positions in the address position.

The sequence and characteristics above produce a somewhat shallow angle of attack. If it is determined that that the club head needs to move differently, then a non-compensatory adjustment must be made. In the case of the deep rough situation we are seeking a club head that moves more steeply to the ground, while still presenting the preferred dynamic loft for the shot at hand.

Deep Grass Adjustments (Greenside)

1. Wide Stance to help create angle

2. Grip down on club (shortens the radius of the arc_

3. Lean forward, as we lean forward head, sternum and handle are all in front of the ball. With the handle forward the clubhead will want to move up more abruptly.

4. Put pressure and weight in lead side by flexing into the lead quadricep

5. Make sure Ball position and loft match desired ball flight

Notice the different elements in the address position (zoomed pictures below). The shoulders move to level, handle forward, gripped down. This allows the clubhead to move up abruptly, creating the angle we need to hit the golf shot. There are no dynamic adjustments, or altering the swing to hit the shot differently. We simply added some steep elements to the address position.

Drill

A great way to feel everything discussed above is to hit a few shots off an inclined lie where the trail foot is above the lead foot. To hit the shot successfully the body is going to have to level to the slope, in doing so putting pressure in the lead quadricep, just like we wanted in our deep rough setup. The shots have a lot of the same characteristics.

Matt Henderson is the Director of Instruction on-site at TPC Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada and brings over 14 years of experience as a golf instructor and coach. Ranked by Golf Digest as the #2 instructor in Nevada, (2014-2015) Matt was also the recipient of the Southern Nevada PGA’s Teacher of the Year Award. (2013)

As a PGA Class A professional Matt has worked and studied under some of the game’s best-known instructors. Matt also has extensive experience in the field of fitness and junior development and is certified by the Titleist Performance Institute in both areas. Matt specializes in short game instruction and competitive player development. He enjoys coaching players of all skill levels, from beginner to the TOUR in all elements of the game.

For Information about lessons and educational programing call 702-575-8829

Power vs. Finesse: Three Keys

By Matt Henderson, PGA

Most of us are guilty of moving elements of our full swing into our shortgames. Quite frankly because that information has been handed down for what is now generations, “the small swing is the same as the full swing.” Always as in life, it is not quite that straight forward. The Goals of full swing are much different than shortgame. In Full Swing, maximum speed is important, the bounce of club and added effective loft are often harmful. In Shortgame speed must be well managed, softness has a value and so does controlling the ground interaction of the club’s bounce. Standing up and hitting a driver as far down the fairway as we can is a different skill than being able to hit the ball 15 feet with a controlled spin rate. The caveat is that in playing the game of golf we would like to be relatively skilled at both.

Identifying Power traits

The things that come to mind when looking at the picture on the left with the driver or power setup would be: wide stance, side bend or tilt, distance away from the ball. The picture on the right features a shortgame setup with power features. Short of narrowing the stance and moving the ball back the picture of the wedge contains many of the same distance producing factors as the driver setup. Over a period of time the player using thease setup features to hit shortgame shots would experience fat and thin contact mishits, difficulty controlling speed, and inconsistancy of height carry distacne. This is solely based on the distance factors noted in the setup position.

Gaining control over the setup is a crucial part of being able to become proficient at the varying skills needed to play quality golf and control the overall consistancy of performance. Here are the three simple steps:

Step 1: Narrow Stance

The short game stance is very narrow vs. full swing…this is optimum for stability in shortgame, but opposite of full swing. It would be tough to create power from the position in the below right picture, which makes it optimal to hit short shots

Step 2: Open or splayed lead foot

This helps assist level shoulders through impact, which can be a lead contributor to controlling the low point in the short game motion.

Step 3: Shirt Buttons in Front

Sternum or shirt buttons in front of ball. If we set up with the chest behind the golf ball, the low point will tend to be behind the golf ball.

Putting it All Together

These steps do a lot to reducing the amount of power we can create, but they also do a lot to aid in controlling the lowpoint. Lack of the latter is generally a large problem for most amateurs. Optimal lowpoint control comes when the shoulders are fairly level through impact (below right picture), this provides a covered look with the chest (chest points more toward the target than where the ball was). Step numbers two and three do a great deal to facilitate this. Flaring or opening the lead foot helps the body maintain the level shoulders through impact.

One of the worst things that could happen dynamically though the execution of the shot would be if the hips tilt up, (ie) the lead hip being higher than the trail hip through impact. If this reverse tilt occurs it will move the lowpoint backwards. (see bottom left picture) This happens because as the hips tilt up the spin tilts backwards. For this reason, step number three of referencing sternum position becomes very important. It prevents the same thing that dynamically happened with the hip tilt from happening via setup.

Hitting a golf ball off a sloped or inclined lie adds an
extra element to the game, especially since we just came from that flat
practice area. The ultimate goal is to
make solid contact and advance the ball toward the target in a beneficial
way. The best way to accomplish this is
to accept what the slope is giving us and change the address position
accordingly. Here are the specifics on
the four most common uneven lies:1. Ball Above FeetAddress
This lie brings the ball closer to you. To accommodate keep the same spine angle as you would from a flat lie and grip
down on the club accordingly. Think of
it like the Pythagorean theorem (A2+B2=C2). If (A) spine angle is a constant then (B) length
of shaft must change to accommodate. Distance Control
We are gripping down on the club to accommodate the slope. This will make the golf ball go shorter, so
the solution is to take more club. A
good rule of thumb: every inch and half we are gripped down on the club, add
one club. Example: I would normally hit
7 Iron fromm this distance, I will be gripped 1.5” down on the club…I will select
a 6 Iron. Take more club. Direction
When the ball gets
above our feet an interesting phenomenon occurs. As the shaft of a lofted club (Example: 9
Iron) becomes more horizontal to the ground, the face begins to point more and
more to the left of the target line. This
means that everything being equal with the ball above the feet, the average
golfer should aim more to the right. 2. Ball Below FeetAddress
The big issue with this golf shot is that everything is not
equal. It is hard to make solid contact
with it because most of our subconscious thought is going toward keeping our
bodies upright and balanced on the slope. The concentration with the body
positioning should be to get the center of gravity as far toward the posterior
as possible feeling like the spine is
increasing in hinge and weight is in the heels. (See Below Picture)Distance Control
With the body unable to move like it normally does because
the repositioned COG, body turn is restricted. The swing itself becomes something more of an arms and hands swing, so
the ball tends to go shorter. To adjust take
more club, the longer shaft also help with the setupDirection
The truth…it depends
on your individual pattern. (The word pattern being used to describe fade and
draw bias amongst individual players) Traditional golf instruction often states
that the ball will go to the right. However, since everything is not equal (i.e. body motion) someone who
slices it off the tee box might hit a huge pull (left mishit) off a ball below
feet lie. The best thing to do is to hit
a few golf shots off this respective slope and see what mishit pattern you the individual generates…play
accordingly.

3. Uphill LieAddress
Setup with shoulders parallel to the slope. (See Picture) Easy keys setup with the slope and swing with it. Most amateurs tend to lean into the slope,
causing angle of attack issues.Distance ControlThe slope will add effective loft to the club. (The amount of loft delivered to the ball) Take more club to accommodate for this
Direction
There is a dynamic loft and Aim problem again with this slope,
everything being equal the ball should go to the left. Although the like hood of this happening may
decrease as the clubs get longer.
4. Downhill Lie

Address
Just as above, setup with shoulders parallel to the
slope. (See Picture) Easy keys setup
with the slope and swing with it. Most
amateurs tend to move weight away from the target with this shot, causing them
to hit behind the ball. Always move
weight toward the target, but a make a special point of doing so with this
shot.
Distance Control
The slope is again modifying the effective loft of the club,
this time taking loft off. Take less
club than normal and do not get to greedy on this shot. Meaning fairway metals and hybrid may need to
stay in the bag, it becomes hard to get them in the air.

Aim
Everything being equal we should be able to hit a ball in a conceivable
predictable direction form this slope. If weight stop moving, everything is not equal. Most amateurs tend to hit it to the right of
this slope, aim left to accommodate

When looking at people
putting it becomes relatively easy to lump them into one of two categories: 1)
No Chance 2) Has a Chance. Most of the
assessments that lead to those two categories can be made very quickly and
often before a putting stroke is even made. That is how important the setup position can be in putting.
Putting Contains no
large athletic feat, nor does it require the modalities needed for the full the
swing. That means that our average Club
Champion can hypothetically putt just as well as a TOUR Champion. Quite often if left from any manipulative
movements the stroke itself will look very much like the established setup
position. For great putting….take
control over setup. Here are the steps
that I look for in my instruction:

1. Shaft In-Line with Forearms
The importance of this cannot be overstated and that is why it is
number one. A lot of amateurs grip the
putter too much in fingers, essentially taking their full swing grip to the
putting stroke. In full swing, we are
assembling angles that enable us to create speed and get the ball in the
air.... neither is needed to putt it well. Ditch the full swing grip and get it in more in the palms and in line
with your forearms like the above picture. This is my only hang up on grip, feel free to cross hand, claw it or any
other configuration that you can muster.2. Ball to Toe
The arc that we wish the putter head to move on will be affected by
how far away or close to the golf ball we stand. Too close and we can shape it in an out to in
pattern, too far way and the path could be too far in to out. Without being properly fit for a putter my
best suggestion would be to fall into TOUR average, which is 2 – 2 ¾ Putter
head lengths away from the ball. With
the average putter heads measuring 4” that puts our ball to toe measurement
somewhere between eight to ten inches away from the center of the ball. Start at two putter head lengths and work
slightly away from it if it feels to close. 3. Ball position/Stance Widtha. Ball position is tricky, because it is
interwoven with stance width and can not only influence the angle of attack of
the putter head, but can influence aim as well. The truth is that ball position can depend on what aim bias the
individual has. Aim bias is really a reflection of our vision and each of us is
unique. This can be modified with Putter head shapes, the addition or
subtraction of sight lines, and of course ball position.
To establish ball position, start with the ball one revolution ahead of
center and then ask a friend to tell you where the face is pointed in relation
to the aim-line. If the face is aimed
left move the ball further back, if it is aimed right move the ball further up
in the stance. b. Stance width and ball position need to be
mentioned in the same breath. If the
stance widens our head and sternum move further behind the ball…which changes
the effective ball position. Which if
you read above…changes the effective aim. Pick a stance width when the ball position is established. Stance
with should be a constant.

4. Forearms In
No awkward elbow positions…The elbows simply need to be neutral to
posture. If they are not we are simply
negating all the work of trying to get shaft in line with forearms
earlier. To find your neutral position
stand completely upright and let your arms hang naturally, look down and that
what your elbows should look like on the putter.5. Body Check
The last check is to make sure that our lines are not jumbled. The lines that I am mainly concerned with are
the line we intend to start the ball on (True Aim Line) and the shoulder
line. Most of the time if the two are
not parallel players tend to have path and aim issues. Set the club face to the Aim line and
establish shoulders to club face

Many people know who Rory McIlroy is, and many who are loyal followers of the PGATOUR know who Brandel Chamblee is (Commentator for Golf Channel). What a lot do not know is that there was an EPIC Twitter battle that ensued between the two…. Rory won. But what may have been lost to those watching this take place, or to the golfing population in general, is what the heck they were even talking about.

In the day of
Social Media arguments between commentators, players, and instructors happen
all the time. All though these
discussions happen in public forums they are rarely seen by those outside the
industry. However, when they are thrust
into the limelight there can some confusion as to what we are even talking
about. We as instructors forget that
what is understood, understated, and assumed in discussions amongst ourselves
is totally lost on most of the golfing public.
This instance
is a prime example, when instructors talk of "hitting up" (to
optimize launch conditions), we know that the clubhead is still moving in an
arc and still moving “down” to the low point in its respective arc. It is only after it reaches that low point
that the clubhead can then move “up.” Since
the club is simply traveling in space in relation to the ground, the golf balls
location relative to the low point will determine whether impact occurs with
the clubhead moving down or moving up. (Down and out toward the Low Point, up,
in and away from the low point)
However, a
large percent of the golfing population does not understand this concept. I would be fully confident in going even
further, and stating that most do not even know that this exist and is a factor
in hitting an object that rest on the ground. So, when you the average golfer hears or reads
talk of hitting up, what generally happens? Given the industries description, the normal
compensations turn into attempts of bending the left wrists and hanging back.
(pictured)Key thoughtQuintessential to improving at this game is learning how
to control the low point and managing that low point respective to the
placement of the ball. The clubhead will
always move in an arc, and simply managing that arc to be mostly above ground
throughout the golf swing is something that would serve us all well.
In Summation
With
technology, we as instructors have learned that to optimize driving distance
“hitting up,” can be beneficial. Hitting
up simply meaning presenting a positive attack angle during a moment in time,
that moment being impact. The truth is
that we must first swing down to the low point. If you are curious about optimizing you’re your launch conditions, or
have watched several YouTube videos explaining why it is beneficial to hit up
on it …the safest bet is to always
consult your teaching professional before making any changes. Making changes based on feel and with no
previous baseline knowledge rarely results in improvement.